We returned to the festival on Sunday where the sun was eclipsed by grey clouds and, as is traditional for a bank holiday in the British summer, it rained. This rain lead to many punters taking shelter in the various tents throughout the festival. Over on the Udder stage the likes of Jake Isaacs and the rambunctious City Shanty Band delighted the crowds throughout the day. A particular highlight was the City Shanty Band’s take on a traditional sea shanty, ‘Drunken Banker’.
There was also a huge turnout in Alex James’ Cheese Hub. Primarily a place for James’ cheese brand to be tasted and sold, there was also a small DJ area where the Blur-bassist and friends spun tunes throughout the weekend. On Sunday we were witness to the superstar DJ trio that are Jo Whiley, Jamie Oliver and James himself playing ‘bangers’ like ‘You Spin Me Round’ and The Killers’ ‘Mr Brightside’ (although that had nothing on James’ choice of the Blue Peter theme song the day before…)
On the main stage there was another day of amazing music. The humble Rae Morris put on a typically stunning set, storming through tracks from her debut record Unguarded, and persevering through the rain. Maxi Jazz followed, getting the audience up and dancing. Roots Manuva brought his effortless cool to the stage, with a huge reception for anthem ‘Witness the Fitness’.
The Feeling are regulars at the Feastival, having played several times before. Despite the limited commercial success of their third album, Boy Cried Wolf, in 2013, the band still drew in a huge crowd, with frontman Dan Gillespie Sells proving that he can still wrap a crowd around his little finger. Playing through their back catalogue of greatest hits like ‘Sewn’, ‘Never Be Lonely’ and ‘Rose’, the band were then joined by Sophie Ellis-Bextor to play two of her biggest hits, ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ and ‘Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)’. The whole thing was a massive blast from the early noughties past; but instead of being tragic was a whole lot of fun. Closing with a medley of classic British rock songs, and hit single ‘Love It When You Call’, The Feeling left the audience asking why they haven’t had more success in the past few years.
Soul songstress Paloma Faith was the Sunday closing act. She blitzed through singles like ‘Can’t Rely On You’ and ‘Stone Cold Sober’, only pausing between songs to rally the audience, declaring that we should all just be kinder to each other so there’s less hate in the world. It was an exhilarating performance, which she closed with the number one anthem ‘Changing’.
The Big Feastival truly impressed as a festival. With a huge focus on food, you could think the musical lineup would suffer, but Oliver and the gang made sure this wasn’t the case with somebody on the lineup for everybody. And where else could you watch Dizzee Rascal whilst eating a block of cheese?
